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The Frog Prince
airing.]] The Frog Prince, part of the Tales from Muppetland series, was released in syndication on May 12, 1971. This one-hour version of the classic fairy tale is narrated by Kermit the Frog. A small frog who lands near the pond where Kermit and some other frogs have gathered claims that he is under a witch's spell and is actually a prince named Sir Robin the Brave. Kermit and his pals, Gawain, Kay, Garth, and Ector, skeptical about the frog's true identity, sing about the joys and advantages of being a frog. Princess Melora who talks mixed-up as the result of a witch's curse, befriends the Frog Prince and takes him to her palace. But before the spell on the frog can be broken, he must fend off the Princess' Aunt Taminella, who is actually the witch in disguise. Taminella has fooled Melora's gullible father, King Rupert the Second, into believing that she is his long-lost sister -- and that she deserves to wear the crown. One of the Princess' key mixed up phrases is "Bake the hall in the candle of her brain", which actually means "Break the ball in the handle of her cane". With the help of Kermit, Robin narrowly escapes becoming the breakfast of an ogre named Sweetums, and the story takes a happy turn when the other frogs help to stop the coronation of Aunt Taminella. Cast Muppet Performers: *Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Carl Banas (voice only), Richard Hunt, John Lovelady, Daniel Seagren, Faz Fazakas (uncredited) Human Cast: *Trudy Young as Princess Melora *Gordon Thomson as Sir Robin the Brave *Heather Henson as Prince Kermit (uncredited)Interview with Heather Henson in episode #97 of The MuppetCast. Voices: *Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Garth and King Rupert the Second *Frank Oz as Gawain *Jerry Nelson as Robin the Frog and Featherstone *Carl Banas as Sweetums *Jerry Juhl as Aunt Taminella and Kay Credits * Executive Producer: John T. Ross * Producer/Director: Jim Henson * Book and Lyrics by: Jerry Juhl * Music by: Joe Raposo * Settings Designed by: William Beeton * Associate Producer for the Muppets: Diana Birkenfield * Puppet Supervision: Donald Sahlin * Set Decoration: Stephen Finnie *'Costume Design:' Lorely Fritze * Puppet Costumes: Bonnie Lewis, Caroly Wilcox, Kermit Love * Special Effects: George Clark * A R.L.P. Canada/Henson Associates Production TVGuide ad Frog Prince.png|May 8th, 1971 TV Guide advertisement File:Frog_prince_1971_tv_ad.jpg|May 8th, 1971 TV Guide advertisement Notes *A number of characters in this special were performed and voiced by separate performers. Jerry Nelson voiced Robin but Frank Oz provided the puppetry,Nelson, Jerry The Muppet Mindset interview with Jerry Nelson Carl Banas provided the voice of Sweetums while Jerry Nelson was inside the character, and Jerry Juhl performed the voice of Taminella while Richard Hunt performed the puppetry. *The special was taped in Toronto from March 22 to April 1, 1971.Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal, page 78 *"Bein' Green" can be heard underscored during the luncheon sequence. See also *''The Frog Prince'' (video) *''The Frog Prince'' (soundtrack) * The Frog Prince (story) Sources External links *IMDb *Jim Henson's Red Book - 3/-/1971 - To and From Toronto re - "Frog Prince" *Jim Henson's Red Book - 4/26/1971 - First screening April 26 __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Muppet Specials Category:Fairy Tales